Despite taunts, Ching cherishes memories of visits to Azteca

Dynamo all-time leading scorer Brian Ching understands what’s in store for the U.S. men’s national team Tuesday night when they play a crucial World Cup qualifier against Mexico at Azteca Stadium.

Ching has made two trips to Azteca Stadium with the national. He started the 2-1 loss to Mexico on Aug. 29, 2009, in the final round of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup.

“It was pretty cool,” Ching said. “We lost the first time 2-1 and then we lost the second one 2-1. They’re chanting ‘Osama! Osama!’ the first time I was there through our national anthem. They try to get in your head. They throw stuff on the field. Guys are blocking Landon (Donovan) on the corner kick (to protect him from debris).

“Beside stuff being thrown in, you don’t feel unsafe. It’s just a very anti-American crowd. It’s a great experience. There’s so much history in that stadium. You’re playing one of the best teams in CONCACAF. There’s a huge rivalry there. There’s a lot of pressure on them to win.”

Rest assured much of Mexico will shut down Tuesday night to watch and support El Tri. A sold out crowd of 110,000 is expected.

“Especially in soccer nations, everybody stops,” Ching said. “It’s almost like you’re playing for something more than a win there.”

Fortunately for the U.S. players on the bench, their sitting is covered from the water bottles and other debris that tends to come from the stands.

“I remember being on the bench when we scored,” Ching said. “It was like it was raining on us almost. Things were hitting the back of our dugout. If you weren’t in a dugout you probably would have been in big trouble. For a soccer player it’s a great rival stadium to play in. You have 100,000 people there. It’s electric.”